For a project on memory and identity, I am interested in Irish Americans of the third or following generation, discussing their teenage years in the 1970s and 1980s.

The purpose of this project is to consider the role of collective memory in the shaping of identity in young Irish Americans, predominantly at a time when the Troubles in Northern Ireland were constantly on the news. Using the Troubles as the common ground and baseline, special emphasis is placed on how memory is transmissed from one generation to the next. Given that this project tries to explore the memory of and attitudes towards the Troubles as expressed by Irish Americans, the research is aiming to find out how these memories were created and transmitted within or between groups such as families or communities.

The project will be based on qualitative research, namely structured interviews with Irish Americans. I am therefore interested in getting in touch with Irish Americans, preferably people who were teenagers or in their early twenties in the 1970s and 1980s. I would be happy to talk to you about your experiences, so please contact me to arrange an initial talk via email, skype or phone. All information will be handled with strict confidentiality.

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Photo taken by Sage Sohier